Laney Adjusts after Halftime to Topple Rival Josey
Ronnie Baker turned to the wishbone to capture the momentum and a win on the road
After Laney had earned only one first down through its first three possessions, the Wildcats needed a yard at midfield to keep a drive alive midway through the third quarter against arch rival Josey. That’s when head coach Ronnie Baker saw something that he liked. His offense executed out of the wishbone formation to extend what became a 63-yard drive that ended with the game’s only touchdown. The Wildcats would go on to top the Eagles 8-2 in a special Thursday night contest.
“We had to adjust our game plan and bring more guys in the box to try to help push the pile when we ran the ball,” Baker explained on Josey’s track after the game. “We found a formation that helped us. And we got help from a lot of different running backs.”
Turning to the Wishbone
The touchdown drive gained steam when Devin Heard picked up 10 yards and a first down to keep it alive, but the Wildcats were just getting started. Laney usually plays out of the shotgun with a lone running back alongside quarterback Keshaun Sanders. But after Heard’s first down conversion, the Wildcats proceeded to line up all 11 players in the box with 3 running backs with their hand in the dirt behind Sanders, who moved under center, on every remaining play of the game.
The move paid off almost instantly after Heard gained 5 more yards on the next play. Then Angus Myrick rushed for 15, and then 17, yards to the 10 yard line on the two proceeding snaps. Daryus Moore followed with a 9-yard gain to the 1 on first-and-goal from the 10. Two plays later Myrick punched it in and then followed with another powerful run to convert for two to give Laney its first lead at 8-2 with 2:27 left in the third quarter.
I asked Baker if the wishbone was new for him or his team.
“I ran a little wishbone back in the old days… in my heyday back when I was in high school,” Baker said with a laugh. “And that’s a formation we use on the goal line. It was fourth-and-1 and we came out and we came off hard and we got a lot of yards. So I said let’s stick with it and we’ll see if we can milk the clock at the same time.”
Laney’s Defense Takes Over
The momentum swung further in Laney’s direction on the following series when junior Levictor Lakes, a 6-4 and 247-pound defensive end, stripped Josey running back Corey Thomas of the ball and recovered the fumble himself to halt Josey’s drive near midfield on the final play of the third quarter.
Laney’s offense didn’t capitalize on the fumble recovery as the Wildcats turned it over on downs at the Josey 32-yard line with 7:30 remaining in the fourth quarter. But Laney’s defense then punctuated a fine second half performance by stopping the Eagles on fourth down near midfield seven plays into the ensuing drive with 3:57 left in the game. Josey’s offense didn’t take the field again.
Laney’s defense improved after halftime even more than its offense did. The Wildcats held the Eagles to 40 total yards in the second half after giving up 207 in the first half. The forced fumble and recovery by Lakes was the only takeaway for either team in the game. And Charles Scott, Jayden Shaw and Kalon Curry all made key solo tackles on Josey’s final series to help seal the deal for the Wildcats.
“The biggest thing was we didn’t tackle well in the first half. And they kind of did some things to throw us off,” Baker said of the unit’s improvement from one half to the next. “But when we figured it out we got a little more comfortable in what to do and how to do it. And we played well in the end.”
Scott made what might have been the game’s most important play when he tackled Corey Thomas in space on fourth-and-3 with 3:57 remaining to end Josey’s final drive. Thomas had busted through the line and appeared to be headed towards an easy first down when Scott wrapped him up.
Scott had also prevented what could have been a big gain by Thomas three plays earlier on first down. Playing on the end, Scott forced Thomas to turn up field and then tripped him up at the line of scrimmage with a diving tackle. And Shaw and Curry both showed off their speed by running down Maurice Holmes and Thomas short of the sticks on second and third down before Scott’s final stand.
Jacorin Thomas’s Big First Half
The first half belonged to Josey and its dynamic junior quarterback Jacorin Thomas, Corey’s younger brother. Thomas rushed for 82 yards, and he completed 6 passes for another 80 yards during the half. Thomas completed passes to Maurice Holmes, Demarion Calloway, Altravion Simpkins, Jamal Chase and James Benson in the opening half.
“In the first half we didn’t get enough plays (on offense) because the defense had to play a lot of plays. And Josey is the reason for that,” Baker complimented his team’s arch rival. “Whatever their record is, they're better than that. Because they came to play tonight.”
Even though Thomas had Josey’s offense rolling, the Eagles were unable to find the end zone in the first half despite penetrating the red zone twice. After Josey reached Laney’s 11-yard line early in the second quarter, the drive was disrupted by a pair of penalties, and the Eagles proceeded to turn the ball over on downs at Laney’s 9-yard line.
However Josey’s defense took advantage of the field position to record the first points of the game with a safety by Jamal Chase, who was able to tackle Laney’s Devin Heard in Laney’s end zone two snaps after the Wildcats assumed possession. One play before the safety, Darryl Kirkland had wrapped up Heard 7 yards deep in the backfield at the Laney 2-yard line.
Another Missed Opportunity
After Josey fielded the ensuing kick at the Laney 45-yard line, the Eagles appeared to poised to build momentum. Thomas completed a pair of passes to Calloway and another to Simpkins before what appeared to be a 25-yard touchdown completion to Simpkins was called back due to a penalty. Two plays later another completion inside Laney’s 10-yard line also was called back. Josey’s final attempt at the end zone, which was also the final play of the first half, was unsuccessful. Josey’s offense would not reach Laney’s side of the field again for the remainder of the game.
A tale of two halves
In the first half Josey gained a total of 207 yards on 32 plays while Laney managed only 7 yards in 7 plays. Things flipped in the second half when Laney ran 27 plays and gained 99 yards and scored a touchdown while shutting out Josey and holding them to 40 yards on 17 plays.
Jacorin Thomas finished with 93 rushing yards and 82 passing yards in the game.
Up Next
With the win, Laney improved to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in class 2A, region 4 action ahead of next Friday’s important road game against Westside (4-2, 2-1).
Josey dropped to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the region. The Eagles will host Oglethorpe County on Saturday, October 16.
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